Avoiding health hazards at work

by B. Samarasinghe

Today most of us spend our working days carrying out repetitive activities in awkward or static postures. At first we will not be aware of this because it feels comfortable. If we do not sit properly, take regular breaks and also use correctly positioned furniture and equipment, we can become vulnerable to pain and discomfort.

Prolonged sitting postures incur static muscle work, which is less efficient than dynamic muscle work, and allows a build up of lactic acid - a thick colourless fluid formed during muscular activity by the breaking down of glycogen - causing fatigue and aching. To offset this, it is essential that exercises are performed at frequent intervals during the day.

Common problems include a range of work - related disorders, such as pain in the limbs, fingers, forearms, neck, shoulders and back. These conditions are usually related to overuse and can become debilitating if left untreated.

The good news is that these disorders are preventable. Physiotherapist can successfully treat the symptoms and identify some of the possible causes. This article helps you to identify your risks and offers simple exercises you can follow to help prevent the onset of problems.

Risk factors

These disorders can affect people in many type of work, including those who spend long period at their desks, computers and production workers who frequently repeat the same pattern of movement.

It can even cause problems to drivers and those who play musical instruments or participate in sport.

* Prolonged maintenance of awkward or static postures.

* High rates of repetition.

* Frequent exertion of force.

* Heavy lifting or handling.

Even stress, which causes muscles to tense, can be a contributing factor as can adverse working environments, such as those that are too hot or too cold, inadequate illumination, poor air quality and noise levels, need attention.

What can your employer do?

Your employer should be keen to cut your risk disorders because a healthy workforce is generally motivated and productive.

They should provide:

* Workstation risk assessments conducted by a trained risk assessor.

* Changes to workstations where necessary, based on sound ergonomic principles (study of efficiency of persons in their working environment)

* Changes to work patterns if needed, such as a wider variety of tasks, job rotation and regular breaks for computer - based or repetitive work.

* Appropriate information and training in safe computer use.

* Eye tests for those using display screens and spectacles if lenses are needed.

* Encouragement to take allocated breaks.

What can you do?

* Aim for a good balance between sitting and moving around your work environment. Vary your posture frequently. Performing a few simple exercises, as described, every hour also can help reduce your risk of work - related aches and pains.

* Exercises will boost your circulation, which sends more oxygen to your brain and helps you stay alert.

If you are experiencing any concerns of discomfort, it is your responsibility to seek early advice and inform your employer.

How can physiotherapy help?

Physiotherapist offer advice and treatment for a range of health problems to help you make the most of your lifestyle. They can advise on ergonomics, risk assessment and management relating to workers and their activities, including manual handling.

They are also involved in rehabilitation and will provide a programme of treatment to suit your needs. They will ask you for a full history of any symptoms and discuss workplace risks, your hobbies and any stress factors. Physiotherapist will analyze your posture and offer corrective advice and exercises. They will also took at ways to improve your working practices.

Protecting the next generation

Nowadays, young children, saddled with heavy school bags, are tapping away at computer keyboards, using mobile phones and playing video games. The increasing use of computers in schools and at home means they are also at risk of computer related musculoskeletal aches and pains.

As a consequence some children today have hardly any time to indulge in physical activities and sports, which is worrying. Parents, carers and teachers have a responsibility to ensure the principles of good ergonomics are applied at home and in the classroom.

Ensuring that children know how to sit correctly, vary their activities and build plenty of physical activity into their daily lives, can help minimize the risk of developing common conditions associated with modern computer use.

Fit to work stretching exercises

All exercises should be done gently. Sit comfortably and take five slow deep breaths before starting the exercises. Breathing should be relaxed throughout. Repeat all exercises three times.

Forearms stretch

Gently interlock your fingers. Press your palms away from your body, gently stretching the forearms muscles, fingers and muscles between your shoulder blades. Hold for five seconds.

Back of forearms and wrist stretch

With your elbows straight, tuck your thumb in and make a gentle fist. Bend your wrist forwards gently stretching the forearms muscles, wrist and fingers. Hold for five seconds.

Chin tuck

Sitting tall, imagine you are suspended by a piece of string from the crown of your head. Keeping eyes level with the horizon, tuck your chin in to make a double chin. Hold for five seconds.

Side to side turn

Sitting slightly forward in your seat, rotate your mid - and upper back to the right, holding on to the backrest of the chair with your left hand. Hold for five seconds. Repeat in the opposite direction.

Elbow flare

Put your hands behind your neck, loosely grasped. Keep head and neck tall. Squeeze below the shoulder blades and take elbows back, taking care not to press on the neck.

Hold for five seconds.

Neck turning

Rotate your head left then right, taking care to keep your eyes on the horizon and aiming your chin at the shoulders. Use your eyes to focus on something in the distance for five seconds.

Shoulder retractions

Stand or sit up straight. Pull your shoulders back behind you squeezing shoulder blades towards each other. You should feel the stretch across your chest. Hold for five seconds.

Back stretch

Stand up and put the heel of your hands into your lower back. Draw your elbows back and down. Keeping your head and neck steady with chin tucked in, slowly arch your back and look to the ceiling. Hold for five seconds.

Junk food leads to cancer

Junk food is not only causing obesity but heartburn or acidity leading to ulcers and even cancer in food pipe, a study claimed.

The nation-wide study has found that heartburn is affecting about three out of five urban Indians.

The study conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bhopal and Hyderabad showed that irregular food eating habits is another cause for heartburn among 71 per cent of the urban adult population.

"Food related problems constitute the largest chunk of reasons leading to acidity. Junk food and irregular food eating habits are the two main reasons for acidity," Anup Singh, who heads the Health Care Welfare Society, an NGO that works on health-related matters.

"In most parts of India, people love to eat out and that results in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease," he said. GRE is a condition in which acid, bile and partially-digested food in the stomach back up into the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Heartburn happens when the esophagus comes in contact with stomach acids.

If it is overlooked or not treated, it could lead to ulcers and bleeding of the esophagus. Also, there is a danger that it could lead to the cancer of the food pipe or esophagus," Singh said.

Spicy and chilly based food like pizza, spicy curries, chips and snacks - a must at parties, celebrations and social gathering are the main culprits (10 per cent) that are changing eating habits as well as interfering with lifestyle activities. Fifty-seven per cent of frequent heartburn sufferers said that irregular eating habits especially eating out have caused them heartburn more than once in a given month.

Apart from spicy food, the other factors that result in heartburn are long working hours (9), stress (7) and lack of sleep (6).

Episodic heartburn (that occurs more than two times in a week) is less serious and more common. "A number of people manage their symptoms by avoiding certain foods or take Diegene, Eno or Pudin Hara to get constant relief," Singh said.

But for those with frequent heartburn, it could be a sign of something more serious. The rise of the heartburns portrays the study of social change in urban India where long working hours and erratic lifestyle have made it harder for people to prepare balanced meals at home, increasing the appeal of fast food and on-the-go-snacks, he said.

Singh said heartburn strikes when there is a burning pain in chest and throat, belching often with chest discomfort. The other signs are indigestion, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation.

"As there are so many people suffering from fits of heartburn, people dealing with frequent heartburn aren't always sure if their problem is out of ordinary. One should take it seriously if their symptoms continue," the report said.

The Hindu

Migraines:

Risk factor for heart attack

Painful migraine headaches are a warning that more dangerous pain may lie ahead.

A new study shows in men what earlier studies showed in women: People who get migraines are at higher risk of heart attack and stroke than are people who don't get migraines.

For women, the risk is confined to those who get migraines with aura, a before-headache phenomenon in which a person may see flashes of light or smell odd odors.

That's probably true for men, too, says study researcher Tobias Kurth, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, although the men's study was unable to address this issue.

"It looks like it is only migraine with aura that is causing the potential problem. And that is the minority of migraine sufferers," Kurth tells WebMD. "Even among those with aura, the absolute risk for an individual, it is a moderate to small risk."

Migraine isn't as big a heart disease risk factor as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or obesity - but it is a risk. The Kurth study compared men with identical heart disease risk factors. Those with migraines were 42% more likely to have heart attacks.

"In terms of prediction, we can identify migraine as a predictor of cardiovascular disease," Kurth says.

The problem isn't the drugs migraine sufferers use. Migraine sufferers take the same medications, in the same doses, whether or not they have auras. Yet the risk seems to be confined to those who experience migraine with aura.

Why would a headache cause a heart attack? Nobody knows. But there are several possibilities, suggests Richard B. Lipton, MD, professor of neurology, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y. "One possibility is that having migraine attacks causes atherosclerosis," Lipton tells.

What makes this plausible is that heart disease is linked to inflammation, an immune process that causes blood vessels and other tissues to set off emergency alarms throughout the body. Migraine attacks trigger inflammatory responses.

Another possibility is that the same genetic factors that underlie heart disease also underlie migraine with aura. Migraines usually appear in young adulthood, while heart disease usually appears much later. So migraines, rather than causing heart disease, could simply be an early warning sign of trouble ahead.

Lipton says there is a bright side to having migraines with aura.

"Knowing that migraine is a risk factor creates an opportunity to change your more serious risk factors and to reduce your risk," he says. "Stop smoking, control your blood sugar, don't be obese, lower your cholesterol, and lower your blood pressure.

If people see their migraines as a signal to take better care of themselves, this finding will have public health benefit."

WebMD Medical News